Evaluation of Modelling Parameters for Simulation of Estuarial Systems

Frequently, the purpose of flow simulation in estuaries and complex river systems is to develop circulation patterns for later use. In particular flow and stage time histories are required for water quality simulations that use the advection diffusion equation. If long term simulation is desired then accurate description of the net flow transport over a full tidal cycle is required. Because of limited data availability it is often possible to `validate' a model against data and still not be confident of the overall model performance. This study will investigate the importance of mesh detail, time step and boundary conditions on model performance. RMA-2, a two-dimensional depth averaged finite element model for estuarine simulation will be used. Flow continuity across lines and Eulerian tidal average currents will be used as measure of overall performance. A network for the San Francisco Bay-Delta system that has been validated against measured data will be used as an analysis system.